Click on a thumbnail picture below to see the full size version. 72 Entries. Friday, February 19 View Page I think I have my seeds picked out for 2016 787 Daho 13 24% over--1676.5 Daletas x Self 1756.5 Howell/Jolivette 14 20% over--1057 Howell x self 2145 Mcmullen 15 7% over--1756 Howell/Jolivette x 1625 Gantner For orange 849 Warren 14--00.5 warren x 608 oilla 1107 Zunino 13--400 Zunino x 400 Zunino Backups 1998.5 Jutras 15 6% over--1317 Clementz x 1916 Barron 1111 Shenoha 15 9% over--2323 Meijer x 2323 Meijer 9% I have the right to change my mind at any moment   Saturday, February 20 View Page Maybe this will read easier ......I think I have my seeds picked out for 2016.... 787 Daho 13 24% over--1676.5 Daletas x Self........... 1756.5 Howell/Jolivette 14 20% over--1057 Howell x self ..........2145 Mcmullen 15 7% over--1756 Howell/Jolivette x 1625 Gantner........... For orange 849 Warren 14--500.5 warren x 608 oilla......... 1107 Zunino 13--400 Zunino x 400 Zunino............ Backups 1998.5 Jutras 15 6% over--1317 Clementz x 1916 Barron.............. 1111 Shenoha 15 9% over--2323 Meijer x 2323 Meijer 9% ...............I have the right to change my mind at any moment   Tuesday, February 23 View Page Beat the rush, 12 pairs in your soil color for $36. Designed to be worn 10 times without washing. Biodegradable   Saturday, February 27 View Page A trade to ice man for the 1317 Clementz one tube of free range chicken poop lip balm , might have been used on the dogs once   Thursday, March 31 View Page my two Mexican Sour Gherkin plants, never tried them before   Thursday, March 31 View Page Just how dry can they be, sanded and soaked with seaweed for 6 hrs . Soil is dry down to the second knuckle of my index finger, looks promising for these two practice seeds. just interested to see if they make it   Friday, April 1 View Page After 4.5 days they have sprouted, the other test seeds with moister soil sprouted 1 day sooner. Soil temp was 83.5   Friday, April 1 View Page This is all of the soil right side is the bottom of pot and left is the top, I wouldn't even call the bottom moist   Friday, April 1 View Page I used 2x2stakes to hold down the hoop houses last year and didn't care for them, I added pipe clamps this year and like it a lot better   Friday, April 8 View Page I received this package from Mark today 1998.5 Jutras 15 ...2145 McMullen 15...1734.5 clementz 15 plus the free samples of his product, its always been worth the membership charge to join his club   Sunday, April 10 View Page After getting another 1998.5 Jutras I think I will save those for next year instead of using one as a backup plant I replaced it with a 1517 EXB Zywiec 15. Had plans on seed starting april 14th but may wait another week night temps are low and the winds keep the hoops cool   Tuesday, April 12 View Page Today I took the seeds that were donated by David Boyd, Ron Rahe, Joseph House and Tanner down to the Scovill Zoo in Decatur IL.   Tuesday, April 12 View Page Bald Eagles   Tuesday, April 12 View Page wolves   Tuesday, April 12 View Page a bird of some kind :)   Tuesday, April 12 View Page penguins have only been at this zoo for a few years, its a small zoo but growing every year   Tuesday, April 12 View Page ditto   Tuesday, April 12 View Page one of 3 cheetahs ,they have been at the zoo about 10 years, My wife and I went into the indoor pen once, a perk for volunteering for several years. The manager said never turn your back to them , my wife would always turn away when talking and the look in their eyes and body would change instantly, they want to pounce. Luckily my little girl lived. Their eyes are bigger than silver dollars when they see something they like..   Tuesday, April 12 View Page Half of the animals were still in their winter homes but the Meerkats were getting some sun   Tuesday, April 12 View Page Another bird maybe a peacock of some kind, a lot of the birds are free to walk around the zoo, wait tell you have a gang of turkeys following you around   Tuesday, April 12 View Page The Red Panda was hard to catch , one pic shows him snacking on a biscuit   Tuesday, April 12 View Page .   Tuesday, April 12 View Page Before the zoo trip I did the finishing touches to the 3 huts, heater on the left hooks the timer 6PM to 6 AM, wireless thermostat tells the air and soil temp, so I can sit on the couch and worry some more, thermostat on the left controls the soil cables. Don't tell the wife why the bills so high.   Thursday, April 14 View Page Set this practice plant outside yesterday to see how it handles it, from under 4 foot tubes with no fan to sun and windy, temps were 40F last night, an experiment to see how low of temps it can handle   Friday, April 15 View Page This was the next day, got a good sunburn, got the yard sprayed for weeds before the pumpkins went into the garden, now I just pray that I didnt kill the wifes flowers   Wednesday, April 20 View Page I have 5 out of 6 sprouted with them coming up in this order, still hoping the 787 Daho 13 which was 24% heavy will come up soon, hoped to cross it with the 1756.5 Howell/Jolivette which was 20% heavy. 1756.5 Howell/Jolivette 14 2145 Mcmullen 15 1111 Shenoha 15 2145 Mcmullen 15 1517 EXB Zywiec 15   Friday, April 22 View Page I had a seedling that seemed to stop moving under the soil, I snapped off the end of a toothpick and carefully dug around the plant, the Cots were open under the ground and were coming straight up like a Y , one Cot has a hole in it. I have had plants come up with wrinkled odd shaped Cots before and this must be the cause, when this happened repeatedly 2 years ago I stopped using Azos in the mix thinking that was a factor. Any ideas you have ?   Tuesday, April 26 View Page This is the plant with the cot leaves that opened underground,I left in very low light for 3 days to see if it would stretch(Cecil's idea) but there was no change. I uncovered it to see what was going on and the leaves snapped off easily from the two whitish bulbs that where inside the seed hulls,I assume the white area should have been stem but grew in two pieces instead of one. I do not think its environmental, but I would like your ideas   Friday, May 6 View Page Hoop went from 50 to 102 today had to lift it up in the air to get it to stay at 80   Friday, May 6 View Page My two 2145 McMullen plants, looks like the one on the left is the keeper   Friday, May 6 View Page The 1756 Howell /Jolivette is one of the best looking spring plants Ive had   Friday, May 6 View Page Here's the missing McMullen plants   Sunday, May 8 View Page This is my third try at the 787 Daho I could see the tip of the cot leaf for 2 days and then removed the soil around it, it was no stem like the one before this, Mehdi Daho has been very generous and has sent me 4 seeds and He only has 2 left, and I still have the fourth seed. This must be a genetic problem.   Monday, May 9 View Page Last call for alcohol.. Just planted this last round of seeds at 3:30 pm today, the last 787 Daho, a 1734.5 Clementz and 6 test seeds ( 3 containers with 2 seeds in each) I f the Daho is a success it will replace the 1111 Shenoha it is my slowest plant and the spot was always meant for the Daho, if I have no Daho the 1734.5 Clementz will get the spot, which ever wins will be 24 days behind my other outdoor plants My wife will germinate 2 orange seeds once the weather is safe enough without using protection, she doesn't get the huts..   Monday, May 9 View Page Really late on these pictures ,My wife tends to drown her seeds in the 6 cell containers and I don't like the dance getting them to a sink to drain them. I had some scrape aluminum and made her these trays ,I would have put a hem around the top but the scrape piece just wasn't large enough. I drilled a hole through the metal about the size of the ID of the hose. Then I used a punch to round it out, wrong term to use..   Monday, May 9 View Page Then I cut the tube on a angle and pushed it in the hole ,then pulled it to the final spot   Monday, May 9 View Page now she can let the excess water drain down to a catch bowl, if she wants to water from the bottom she plugs the hole in the tube and fills the metal tray with water. The tube I used was gas line I bought at the cycle shop   Thursday, May 19 View Page This is the Daho from the May 8th entry now at 18 days old, the blue design shows how the stem looks under the cot leaves, nearly 2 separate stems, its growing funky but I may find a small spot for it outside   Thursday, May 19 View Page Farmer stopped by and turned the compost   Thursday, May 19 View Page It never would have been turned over by me, am glad He was out with the loader, found a garter snake and tossed him out of the way and it came right back, thinking maybe it had babies in there somewhere   Thursday, May 19 View Page Made a bracket to hold 2 blocks on the tiller but decided one brick was enough, am afraid of the stress it puts on the handle when raising it out of the ground .Tilled in 44 cubic ft of perlite around 3 plants today.   Saturday, May 21 View Page I think this gets asked every year, what is causing this leaf damage, has it been flipped over by the wind so sharply that the structure is broken, I don't know much about silica and I am not sold on it yet but would it strengthen the leaves. Last year the 20 closest leaves to the stump did this so bad they just broke off eventually. I was thinking I damaged those with a foliar spray but this has never been sprayed   Sunday, May 22 View Page The 1756.5 Howell/Jolivette's growth has been slow after a good early start, its been in the ground almost a month, maybe its saving the growing for the fruit, I can hope cant I   Wednesday, June 1 View Page tilled in 32 cubic ft of perlite and also a small amount of compost in the 2145 Mcmullen patch yesterday, new fence went up and will start the drip tape first chance I get. I leave the boards upright so the secondaries can grow under them easier I am not sure I like the way am using the boards.I think this patch got 52 cubic ft of perlite for around 1300sqft   Wednesday, June 1 View Page The first female that's ready to open is on the 2145 McMullen, this is the only flower any where near ready to open on my 3 plants but this one is only 5 ft from the stump.   Wednesday, June 1 View Page this should have been the first picture   Sunday, June 12 View Page My 2145 McMullen I have a female around 12 and 13 ft   Sunday, June 12 View Page Got my overhead spinners in last night the plants have went through 2 days in the upper 90s today should be at 100   Tuesday, July 5 View Page Fourth of July pic of the 1756 Howell-Jolivette cant seem to operate this new camera right, glass over stump and tent over pumpkin   Tuesday, July 5 View Page the first secondary's sweep backwards, don't look at the weeds, they aren't really there   Tuesday, July 5 View Page 17 dap not impressed and not even sure it took, I got behind on everything vine burying and weeding, the plants got size and looks good   Sunday, July 17 View Page My 1756 Howell-Jolivette day 30 team pumpkin chart est 378 to 450 (265")   Friday, July 22 View Page Found some rot about 18" from the stump I think it was under control ,but we just got another 2.5" of rain last night, this is the 1756.5 Howell/Jolivette 14   Friday, July 22 View Page here was the picture I meant to post   Friday, July 22 View Page the 1756.5 Howell/Jolivette 14 also from July 22 DAP 35 est 620 pounds. I was taking a farewell photo guessing the stump would start foaming, I may have a retractable tarp next year   Wednesday, July 27 View Page day 40 for the 1756.5 Howell/Jolivette est 800 pounds, the stump is holding and I think the vine is rot free   Sunday, August 7 View Page My 1756.5 Howell/Jolivette 1013 pounds my first pumpkin over 1000, I have another one over 882 ,my previous PB was 880   Thursday, August 11 View Page Here is my 1756.5 Howell/Jolivette my PB after someone destroyed it and stole my game camera, I have a reward out ,hopefully the cops catch him before I do   Thursday, August 11 View Page They cut off the main, they wanted it dead   Tuesday, August 30 View Page this went to killer depths today on my 849 Warren 14 (500.5 warren x 608 oilla) was hoping for a HD   Tuesday, August 30 View Page Here was the good side, it would stand by itself and would have been hard to tip over   Tuesday, August 30 View Page Here was the best side, opposite side of the foam block in previous picture   Monday, September 12 View Page I've been having some rot problems for about 10 days this is my last pumpkin the 2145 McMullen , some days are worse than others. Yesterday about 1 heaping tablespoon of thick cloudy puss had come out overnight.This was about the third time for a large quantity to show up. Today it was soup bean size, been scraping it out ,spraying peroxide and adding sulfur about everyday.I had thought it was coming from the inside out, but I may be wrong this is about 3/4 of an inch deep and 1/2 wide. 11 days to the weigh off   Saturday, September 24 View Page ready for the weigh off   Saturday, September 24 View Page 2145 McMullen   Sunday, September 25 View Page My busted pumpkin, too rotted to make it in one piece, I didn't weigh it est 1336   Sunday, September 25 View Page Joe Adkins PB and 2016 winner   Sunday, September 25 View Page shazzy and his mom another PB for shazz   Sunday, September 25 View Page Joe Adkins daughter with her first pumpkin   Sunday, September 25 View Page more photos to come   Sunday, October 9 View Page I grew a variety of squash and pumpkins this year , I hope people see the humor in my "prize" pumpkin   Tuesday, December 13 View Page Prickly pear cactus living outdoors in Illinois